A/N:

As I told you, here I am again just to be kind ;-) An extra chapter for you! Let's see what happens between Bella and George now

Title: The Perfect Partner Program

Author: MarieCarro

Beta: EdwardsFirstKiss

Pre-reader: brwneyedgrl01

Genre: Angst/Hurt&Comfort/Romance

Rating: NC-17

Summary: The summer of 2005 was the summer that changed Bella Swan's life forever. Sent to Ohio by her mother to attend a school for debutante girls not quite up to par, she meets Edward Masen, an apprentice. But is that really all he is? AH

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

Chapter Word Count: 2, 724

CHAPTER 16 THE TRUTH

"What is all this for?" I asked when I walked through the front door and was almost run over by a catering employee.

"Isabella, don't act stupid. We always have a garden party at the end of every summer," Renée answered exasperatedly.

"Right," I mumbled. "I guess I'll take a shower and get ready then," I said. Since we had come back from Ohio, I'd had no energy to fight Renée on every ridiculous thing she wanted to do, and because she thought I was finally cooperating, the peace had been kept in the house.

"Thank you," she said in response, and when I was halfway up the stairs, she called after me. "Wear that teal-colored dress I bought you a few months ago."

"Okay," I consented tiredly. I was always tired nowadays. Maybe it was a side-effect of living with a shattered heart, but I wasn't sure.

It wasn't like I was very excited for the party either because I knew what kind of party it would be. I was never allowed to invite Becca since my best friend apparently didn't know how to act right, and it resulted in my having a very dull time at the parties Renée hosted.

A few hours later, I was sitting by myself at one of the tables in the garden and sipping on a glass of fruit punch that had been provided for the minors at the party. George came up to me with an older couple in tow.

"Bella, I want you to meet the sitting president of my father's country club, Mr. Robert Pearse and his wife Dorothy," he said.

I stood up from my seat and gently took Mr. Pearse's hand in mine as I had been taught since I could walk. I wasn't allowed to give a handshake that was too firm, but it was important that it wasn't like a dead fish either. A bit softer than a man's, but no less steady. I also gave the couple a smile. "It's nice to meet you," I said politely, even though I didn't give a crap about who they were and what they did.

"Mr. Pearse, this is Isabella Swan, Commissioner Swan's daughter, and my girlfriend."

I was just about to take a sip of my punch when his words registered with me. I was thankful I didn't have time to drink because I would have without a doubt sprayed Mr. and Mrs. Pearse with punch in pure shock.

I did, however, look sideways at George, but he didn't seem to react to what he had said. He simply continued to converse with the older couple as if everything was normal.

"Is something the matter, dear?" Mrs. Pearse asked me after a moment, and I gave her a reassuring smile.

"Everything's fine, but I was wondering if it would be alright if I had a moment alone with George? It would be very much appreciated."

"Of course," Mr. Pearse said, noticeably charmed by my manners.

"Thank you," I said with a smile and hooked my arm around George's elbow to lead him into the house.

"What's wrong?" he asked me innocently when I closed the door to one of our sitting rooms.

"What the hell are you doing?" I asked my own question instead of answering his. He frowned at my curse word even though it was far from the worst I could have said. Luckily, for him, he didn't comment.

"What do you mean?"

"Why did you introduce me as your girlfriend to that man and his wife?"

George appraised me questioningly. "Because that's what you are," he answered with a self-explanatory tone.

My eyes widened. "Since when?"

"I told you a few days ago that I had made a mistake when I broke up with you. I was very clear that I wanted you back," he explained.

"Yes, you were," I nodded. "But I can't remember that you actually asked me if I wanted to get back together with you because if you had, my answer would have been 'no'."

He frowned in confusion. "Why would it be? Are you saying you don't want to be with me again?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying," I told him and I said it deliberately slowly in hope that it would come across easier to him that way.

"No," he protested, and I started to silently question his sanity. "No, Bella, we are supposed to be together," he insisted. "That was why you went to the Academy!"

I sighed. "We are not supposed to be anything. It's just something our mothers have pushed into your head all these years. And as for the Academy, yeah, Renée told me that was a demand of yours to take me back, but I didn't go there to please you. I was forced to go by Renée!" I was getting angrier by the second and I could feel that all the suppressed anger I still felt against Edward was about to be unleashed on George. "She sent me there because she desperately wants you as her son-in-law, and she doesn't care if I want it or not. Because she and your mother know that you need a wife who can move in the same social circles as you, and who could be better than the Commissioner's daughter, right?" I took a step forward. "I hate to burst your bubble, but I will never be your little trophy wife while you have a weekend whore on the side."

It didn't matter that George had never cheated on me while we were together. That was just the way it was in socialite society. Everyone knew it, but it was never talked about because it wasn't appropriate.

George's eyes went cold, and I recognized the expression. It was the same expression he always wore when he disapproved of my behavior. "It doesn't matter what you want. It will happen anyway. You know it, and I know it, so just accept it."

The doors behind us were opened and Renée stood outside. "Oh, there you two are," she said when she saw us. "George, your parents are looking for you, and Isabella, what did I say about networking? You can't do it unless you're out there, so go!"

I sighed and passed her to go back outside, but just as I stepped back out onto the grass, I saw that Mr. and Mrs. Carter were in a deep conversation with a man I didn't recognize, and they didn't appear to be looking for George at all. I looked back over my shoulder and realized that neither George nor Renée were behind me.

It didn't take me long to figure out that they had walked off to most likely talk about me and the conversation George and I'd just had. I wasn't stupid enough to believe that Renée hadn't listened to parts of it outside the door.

Before the summer, I would have just accepted their scheming, but I was already pissed off at George, and Renée had been on my shit list for several months now. I felt it was time to stand up for myself and not take their crap lying down, which was why I turned on my heels and went back inside the house and walked with determined steps toward Renée's office.

The door was closed, which confirmed my suspicions, but I could still hear their voices inside. I decided to listen before I stormed in.

"George, you need to be careful, or everything will have been for nothing."

"It seems as if it already is. She doesn't want me. The whole thing failed."

My heart started to beat faster. I just knew that they weren't only talking about today, and it scared me.

"It has not failed. The job was done thoroughly. You must have noticed that she's not as prone to fighting us at every step of the way."

"Yes, until ten minutes ago," George bit off.

"That's on you. You moved forward too fast. She's in a fragile state right now, and you can't walk around and call her your girlfriend. It's barely been a week since Masen finished the job, and he's the main thought in her head right now."

I gasped but quickly covered my mouth to prevent any sound from coming out when I heard them mentioning Edward. What did he have to do with them? How did they know who he was?

"Everything's going so slow. I'm just a little impatient," George continued.

"We can't afford to be impatient, George. The process has to be slow for it to be permanent, and Esme said her nephew has had a one-hundred percent success rate, which was exactly why I hired him. His specific advice was that you remain her friend until she seeks comfort with you on her own. She has to believe it's her choice."

I couldn't listen to any more of it, and I didn't need to either. Everything was suddenly crystal clear, and I finally understood.

Edward's one-eighty personality turn; why he chose me over all the other girls; why he was suddenly everywhere I was, and how he knew exactly what he needed to do to make me fall for him.

I'd known he was too good to be true from the start, but I hadn't listened to myself.

More things started to make sense. Why there hadn't seemed to be any repercussions for an apprentice dating a student, the mysteriously "missing" fifteenth dancer the first dance lesson when Mrs. Cullen had personally made the call, and then her suggestion for Edward to be my partner.

She was in on it. Edward was her nephew.

Dad had the most impeccable timing ever when he rounded the corner in his search for me and Renée. He immediately saw my devastated expression and instinctively knew not to call my name. Instead, he approached me quietly and listened to the conversation still going on in the office.

He didn't understand all of it because I hadn't told him about Edward yet, but he was here, and he understood that Renée had done something unforgivable this time. It was enough for me to collect my strength and open the door to confront the two people that were determined to control my life.

Renée and George looked toward the door when I came in, and it was clear they had no idea I'd heard their conversation.

"What, Isabella?" Renée asked irritated.

"You two are unbelievable," I said with a trembling voice, whether it was from anger or despair, I couldn't tell. Probably both. "It's one thing to send me away for the summer to receive lessons in etiquette, and a completely different thing to hire a guy to break my heart so that I would crawl back to you," I spat and glared at George.

Renée stared at me as if she had no idea what I was talking about. It was an Oscar-worthy performance.

"Bella, what are y—"

Dad stepped between George and I. "Young man, for your own sake, I suggest you shut your mouth," he said in a low voice. "I understand that I don't know the entire story, but believe me when I tell you that I will know every detail, eventually." George cowered under Dad's cop glare, and it made me feel a shred of satisfaction.

I was mostly focused on Renée, though, and she was sporting her famous, ice-cold sneer. "How can one person be so delusional?" I asked her. "How can you deliberately want to hurt your own flesh and blood like you have hurt me? When are you going to stop blaming me for your mistakes?" Almost seventeen years of hurt was suddenly spewing from my mouth, and I wasn't holding back. "Why do I deserve your contempt? What the fuck did I ever do to you except to be born?"

Renée calmly shifted her eyes to Dad. "Charles, are you going to allow her to speak to me like that?"

Dad glowered at her. "You're damn right I am, Renée. All of this ends now, do you hear me? I have been aware of your unjustified disrespect of our daughter for some time now, and I'm saying no more."

"I am her mother. I—"

"Just because you gave birth to me doesn't make you my mother," I yelled at her, my composure finally breaking and my tears started falling down my cheeks rapidly. I didn't want to give her the satisfaction of making me cry, but it was impossible to hold it in.

"Of course it does, Isabella. I've raised you for sixteen years—"

"The hell you have," I interrupted again. "Nana, Pops, and Dad have raised me, and they were the only reason I tolerated you. It's all been for Dad's sake, all these years of putting up with your bullying and constant need to control me and change me to be more like you. But I can't take it anymore.I won't take it anymore!"

I turned toward the door and looked up at Dad. "Please, take me away from here, and I will tell you everything."

He didn't hesitate or look back at Renée as he placed an arm around my shoulder and led me out of the office and the house.

"Charles, we have guests!"

He ignored her and grabbed his car keys and held the door open for me before getting into the driver's seat himself.

Neither of us cared about what excuse Renée would come up with to explain our sudden leaving, and I was relieved that I had Dad by my side. That he believed me, and that he had, for once, taken a stand against Renée to protect me. To me, that meant everything.

When we were on the road, he grabbed my hand in his. "I'm so sorry, Doll," he apologized and when I looked over at him, I saw that his eyes were brimming with regret. "I promise, I will never allow her to hurt you again."

{=A=}

Dad was sitting on the couch opposite me. He was crying, and with each thing I told him, he cried harder.

I told him everything. I told him about every rotten thing Renée had done to me for my entire life, and how I'd felt so unloved every time he had sided with her. I confided in him how I'd briefly considered suicide when Nana and Pops died so close together, and that I'd even purchased the razor blades, but at the last second, I'd chickened out because I didn't want to hurt him.

I told him what George and my relationship had really been like. That he had taken every opportunity to tell me whenever I did something wrong because it had been encouraged by Renée.

I told him about the Academy, and about Edward. About how I thought he was the most amazing guy I'd ever met, that I'd fallen in love, and how thoroughly he'd broken my heart on that last day. About what he had done and said in order to do it.

I wasn't embarrassed by telling him because it felt so good to finally let everything out and to have him understand how unhappy I'd been for so long, and why I'd always fled to Becca's house each chance I had.

Lastly, I explained what I'd put together from having overheard George and Renée talk. That she had hired Edward for one purpose only. To tear me down so completely that I would feel as if my only option was to go back to George. I explained how close it had actually been to succeeding had George not made the mistake of calling me his girlfriend.

"Dad, I'm begging you to never take me back to her. I never want to see either of them again. Ever. Please."

He stood up and pulled me into his embrace. "I promise, Doll. I won't let you down again. I will talk with Rachel and see if we can arrange for you to live with her for a while."

I pressed myself tighter against him. "Thank you."

A/N:

I know a few of you thought for real that I was going to have her end up with George. Heeeell no! I would never let Renée win! This story is about Bella and how she grows as a person after all the ordeal she's going through.

Charlie finally stepped up and took his daughter's side. Yay! About time, yeah! He might have been a wimp and wuss, but he loves is daughter above everything else, and when the limit has been reached, he becomes Papa Bear!

Stay Awesome, guys, and I'll see you tomorrow :-D